MANCHESTER CITY stunned local rivals Manchester United in a 3-0 win at the Etihad on Sunday with stellar performances from the likes of Erling Haaland, Phil Foden and Jeremy Doku.
Foden got the Blues off the mark in the 18th minute following an impressive run and cross from Doku on the right.
AlamyMan City beat United in the Manchester Derby on Sunday[/caption]
GettyIt was another disappointing day for Ruben Amorim[/caption]
Then, in the second half, super striker Haaland scored a 15-minute brace to sink the Red Devils and turn the city blue.
Pep Guardiola got his tactics spot on against Ruben Amorim and Co, with Haaland playing a major role.
SunSport’s Dean Scoggins looked at how the Cityzens achieved derby day perfection in the latest episode of Tactics Exposed.
HAALAND THE MAGNET
Guardiola had a three-point plan to break Man Utd‘s 3-4-3 set-up.
The first part is Haaland. His movement is vastly underrated.
EPAErling Haaland played a cucial role in the win[/caption]
Haaland was able to drag Yoro and De Ligt into the middle to leave space for the midfielders and wide players
He’s not just walking around because he’s being lazy, he’s walking to a position that is going to cause a problem.
Haaland actually moves in the opposite direction to the ball – although it sounds counterintuitive for a striker – to occupy two players.
United fell for it hook, line and sinker.
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On Sunday, Haaland drifted between the left centre-back and the centre-back, or the right centre-back and the centre-back.
That made Leny Yoro and Matthijs de Ligt especially move closer to him, leaving space either side.
As a result, Man City had much more freedom in midfield and out wide.
United just couldn’t get the hang of it.
For the opening goal, Bernardo Silva moved wide, leaving Haaland to drag Luke Shaw and De Ligt – who had already left a huge gap – inside.
Doku then found himself in the No10 position before breaking through the space and crossing inside to Foden who headed past Altay Bayindir to score.
In the Premier League now, you can’t afford to double up because every player is involved.
For the opening goal, Shaw moved far too wide because he was sucked in by Bernardo.
City then made sure to stop the United defender moving back close to De Ligt, leaving the gap for the likes of Tijjani Reijnders and Foden.
Haaland’s finishing was sensational. He deserved a hat-trick for the way that he played.
BERNARDO & DOKU DO THE HUSTLE
Doku was fantastic and probably, from a play perspective, deserved Man of the Match over Haaland and Foden. He was a complete handful.
However, the most interesting thing was that he didn’t hug the wing.
Usually, fans would expect Doku to hug the touchline, receive the ball at his feet before beating his man on the outside.
But against United he was given the licence to wander.
Guardiola knew that Haaland would occupy Yoro and De Ligt so encouraged Doku against becoming isolated on the wing.
The winger moved inside repeatedly to make things more difficult for the United centre-backs.
Bernardo also played a significant role. He is Guardiola’s favourite player for tactical changes.
Whenever City have got something they want to do slightly different, he is the man who does it. He is the one who carries out the instructions on the field.
On several occasions, when United lost the ball, Bernardo drove into the attacking areas to either press the centre-backs or occupy the space.
He also enabled an underlap with Doku by moving wide whenever the Belgian drifted into the centre.
He is the Swiss Army knife player. He is brilliant at understanding a manager’s plan.
EPABernardo Silva’s versitility was crucial for City’s game plan[/caption]
PHIL THE POWER IN CITY TRIANGLE
Foden looked powerful in this game. He didn’t look like he was the ball-playing 10 in the midfield three.
The 25-year-old, Reijnders and Rodri worked brilliantly together in that triangle. United were lost.
City did not become detached out of possession. They were connected and together because of that midfield.
Foden and Haaland were in constant conversation throughout the game about shape and positioning.
The attacking midfielder then took his chance and was fastest to the ball for the opening goal.
GettyPhil Foden was back to his best[/caption]
MAN, NOT WELL
United midfielder Manuel Ugarte did not want to play football.
In the 68th minute, the midfielder received the ball from Kobbie Mainoo but refused to pass between the lines.
Bernardo Silva then pressed the next sideways pass to Shaw, eventually forcing a mistake.
The Portugal international was then able to play a long ball through to Haaland, who had anticipated the pass, and the striker scored after going one-on-one with Bayindir.
Ugarte’s reluctance to spread the play or take the ball on the half turn enabled City to comfortably sit in their midfield shape.
GettyManuel Ugarte failed to make a mark in midfield[/caption]
The midfielder’s reluctance to turn and play forward hindered Man Utd
BIG BEN STARTS TICKING
Benjamin Sesko provided a bit of light on a dark day for Man Utd as he finally started to show glimpses of why the Red Devils paid £74million for him.
The striker looked lively and made some intelligent runs, but his job was made harder when United went behind and the midfield became more stretched.
Much like Haaland, at times Sesko would run the opposite direction to the ball to open up space for other attackers.
He also found himself in the box on plenty of occasions, but the cross from out wide was not good enough.
Sesko was largely outnumbered up front by no fault of his own as United could not work through the phases and use the extra attacking player in that formation to their advantage.
He just needs more of the ball in the final third.
AlamyBenjamin Sesko showed positive signs[/caption] Creator – [#item_custom_dc:creator]
